For My Valentine

It started many moons ago. Rick and I have celebrated twenty Valentine's Days together but I think the first poetry book I made for him was a year or two after it all started. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift but I ran out of time -- and in time found it a better gift for the holiday of love anyway!

I will make a book of some sort -- and they have varied from pop-up books (that nearly killed me) to one with watercolor illustrations, photo books, envelope accordion books, journals that were already made and I filled to journals I made myself.


Each included poetry related to our year and this year was no exception.



This year's book used journal pages made in a workshop taught by Kari McKnight Holbrook that never quite got sewn together. (This was a good thing because I could add or subtract to fit the content!).

 

The books were 140# watercolor paper with fluid acrylics and stamps, cut into thirds and halves. If anyone really cares how that was done, I can explain better in an email!

I wrote till I ran out of creative thoughts and then started putting it together, printing the poetry and photos on vellum and gluing them down.

Then I did a few line markings and drawings in Pitt pen, just to add a little more interest.

After sewing it up, I did the cover, which included some raised blue metallic tape, a Margaret Furlong heart and a title from my label machine, along with some beads.

It wasn't a surprise. At this point in the game, it's a highly anticipated event!

But he liked it!

I guess I'll be doing this again next year!

(Oh, and for those who mentioned it before, Rick did make me the loveliest valentine at my card making party! A genuine treasure!)

(This post is linked to Jemma's Thoughts of Home on Thursday. Visit for decorating, recipe and craft posts!)

NOTE: I have just realized that my feedburner subscriptions have not been arriving for blogger blogs so if I've not been visiting that may be the reason. I've tried to figure out how to fix this -- to no avail. Are you able to receive mine if you subscribe by email? Just curious! Trying now to add those of you without google friend blog feeds into bloglovin'. Just a head's up.

Valentine Make-and-Take

Just suppose you have a few extra art supplies hanging around -- maybe a bit of extra paper, a few ribbons, an embellishment or two. And you think, "How will I ever use all this up?"

 

It's time for a party!

Let's hear it for creating in good company! I decided back in December that one good way to use up art supplies that were overflowing, gather together in friendship and get the house tidied up would be to host a Valentine make-and-take day.

The idea was that people would drop in between 2 and 8, make one card or more, have a snack and leave as their schedule permitted. I had no idea how many people would come (some told me beforehand, but since it was a drop-in, no RSVP was asked for).



So, to be on the safe side, I made some Valentine cookies, a pan of brownies, and whipped out some crunchies and cheese for the savory fans.



All the supplies were on a separate table (and the coffee table...and the couch...and the chair...) and I put up a long one in the living room. Then I just let it happen!



And happen it did!



Over the course of the afternoon and early evening, more than a dozen friends dropped by to create a valentine -- or several!

 

And each one was unique.

          

Those who said, "I'm just not crafty!" turned out delightful cards and those more experienced had mini-masterpieces!



There were plenty of smiles all around!

And while I barely made a dent in my overstocked stash, I had such a good time that the next morning I called up my friend Kate and said let's do it again!

And we did! Here are some of mine -- and a candy box for Rick!



And by the way, those aren't Christmas trees and lights. They are WINTER trees and lights. (And they'll be down soon!)

I'm delighted to be sharing this post on Thoughts of Home on Thursday at Jemma's Blog. And, I'm also joining Betsy's weekly "Talk of the Town." And, don't forget to check out How Sweet the Sound and Pink Saturday for even more fun! Please check all of these links for tons of fun ideas on home and creativity!

Creating with Kristen Robinson, Part Two: The Journal

Yes, I know. I need another journal like a hole in the head. But the journal being taught by Kristen Robinson was different from others I'd done -- and besides, it was Kristen's class, which meant it would be tons of fun!



Kristen's upcycled journal will be featured on her upcoming DVD so don't look for instructions here, but ideas. And the big concept was to use what you have to build something beautiful. Trust me, for every step, she had a rapt audience!

We started with cereal bags. Yup. Empty cereal bags! After the crumbs were removed we arranged items of our story -- whatever that may be -- on one half of the bag, folded it over and press it to seal the bag into a page signature.

This was WAY easier said than done for me!



You need to be careful that elements don't slip out of place when you are pressing it and turning it over (or else you will have, say, a tea bag paper covering Greg's face! above left -- oops!)



But the technique is pretty cool and a great way to see elements yet protect them.

Kristen's kits had everything we needed to make the project -- papers, music, the cereal bag (of course), charms, fabirc, music and printed pages. But of course, we all brought things -- photos and fabric and paint and embellishments!

She demonstrated and gave us art to create a gel medium photo transfer...



...and showed us how to burn felt for an aged, vintage technique.

We incorporated paper bags...

And sewed muslin to paper to make pockets filled with journal cards.

The idea of the journal was to leave room to write. I decided to use mine for family connections, so I had pages with my parents (I can journal on the painted parts or on the journaling cards)...

And places and people I loved.

I finished mine a bit more when I returned home, adding some embellishments I hadn't brought to class and fleshing things out a bit. Here are a couple more pages.

I'm probably not going to make another journal -- not that I didn't like making this one. I did. A lot. But I'm a bit overjournaled and don't put nearly what I should in them.

 

That said, I learned a lot of techniques I will definitely use again -- the transfer, felt burning, the cloth flowers in the photo above, right, and the idea of fusing the papers together. All of these will come in very handy in the future.

I leave you with a technique Kristen shared with us -- painting a surface and then using a tool (end of your paintbrush works fine!) to inscribe the piece. This one was by Amy -- I wish I could take credit for it, because it is a wonderful page and wonderful words.

Words to remember, no matter what the case -- a blank page or canvas. Or, a new step forward in life.